Advertisement
Published: November 24th 2007
Edit Blog Post
Let's eat
Everyone anxiously waiting at the table That’s the question I’ve been trying my best to answer all week long to various French people who are trying to get their heads around the concept. I usually give a little bit of the history (leaving out the whole Indian oppression, of course, because let’s face it….the French already have a low enough impression of us), and then go on to explain that it’s a time to celebrate with family and be thankful and eat a huge, carbohydrate-laden meal.
I’m usually met with interested but vaguely confused stares and the response “oh, so it’s like Noel”. I guess maybe the difference does seem subtle if you’re not American, but none of this was going to deter me from bringing Thanksgiving in all it’s glory to Pau this year. I was aided in this quest by an absolutely indispensable and wonderful care package sent to me by Clary, Elizabeth M, and Jimmy earlier this month. It was full of stickers, turkey centerpieces, a table runner, a magazine with recipes, pilgrim figurines, and best of all, 2 bags of Craisins and a jar of jellied cranberry sauce.
As I mentioned, I’d already taught about Thanksgiving earlier this year with
Le poulet
Here's our majestic chicken before we destroyed it. my older kids, but since I had classes all day Thursday, I thought I’d teach it to the younger ones and revisit it for everyone else. The kids went wild for the stickers, and they seem to finally understand the concept of pilgrim (Who would have thought two little plaster dolls could make such a difference?) They were also adorably proud of themselves for knowing that turkeys say "gobble". I brought the jar of cranberry sauce to show them, and for some strange reason all the boys wanted to open it and eat it. No matter how many times I explained that it really wasn’t good straight out of the can, they didn’t seem deterred. I was unyielding, though. The cranberry sauce stayed with me. Besides Thanksgiving, the lesson this week focused on making excuses for my 3emes and American restaurant behavior for my 4emes.
For the “What’s your excuse lesson”, I gave each of the kids some Gremlinish act or behavior at which they’d been caught red-handed. They had to write an excuse answering the 5 W’s to see if I would “buy it”. I gave them things like “You are caught putting a frog in your brother’s
The big moment
And here is Georg actively mutilating said majestic bird bed” or “you spill grape juice all over the white carpet” or “you are two hours late for a family dinner”. I gave out prizes for the best excuse and the kids really got into it, expecially my 3eme boys, which isn’t surprising since they’re usually doing something that needs to be excused. I also taught them phrases like “off the hook,” “in hot water,” and “framed”. The restaurant lesson was also fun. The kids were astounded to learn about things like doggie bags and free refills, because that just doesn’t happen here. Then, I gave them restaurant menus from the US and had them write dialogues with someone playing the host, someone else the waiter, and a third person the customer. Jeanne ordered Chicken Fajitas, but asked if they could leave out the chicken? Ok, so their comprehension isn’t perfect yet, but they’re getting there!
After work on Thursday I hurried home to start cooking some Thanksgivingy-goodness for the Canterots. I made pecan pie bars and sweet potato casserole, both of which were well received. They finally seem to believe me that not all American food is without flavor. The night before, Christine and Patrick had a dinner
Leslie and Becki
My fellow Americans with friends. As they were getting ready to leave, Patrick realized there was no more bread in the house. This is grounds for declaring a state of national emergency in France, if you didn’t know (or for starting a Revolution, for that matter). Hoping to avoid such an extreme, I told them it was “pas de probleme”, because I would make biscuits. Quoi? Well, I whipped up a batch and they were absolutely crazy about them. Another coup for southern cuisine.
So I was in charge of dessert and side dishes, but the main dish was a little less traditional. We had Calamars….squid. This didn’t bother me in the slightest as it’s one of my favorite foods, especially the way Christine cooks it, but it was still a little strange to have it on my plate next to a hunk o’ sweet potato. I thought about taking a picture, but I decided that might be rude. The Canterots were so amazing (as they always are), and went out of their way to make Thanksgiving special for me. Patrick built a fire in the fireplace and we had aperitifs while I went over the details of the holiday for the
Helen
All smiles for Thanksgiving umteenth time that day. Christine told the girls that the TV would not stay on during dinner, even if it WAS Prison Break, because “Today is Thanksgiving”.
As if Thursday wasn’t enough, all the Assistants got together on Friday to make our own Thanksgiving dinner. As the Americans of the group, Leslie and Becki and I took charge of providing the recipes, but everyone pitched in to help cook and eat. The brits were especially excited, and Heather said she’d gone for a run that morning “just so I’d be extra hungry!” I went over to Heather’s at 4 and we got to work, and Helen and Leslie came over a bit later. While Heather worked on Deviled Eggs and Helen roasted a fresh pumpkin for pumpkin pie, I tucked into a recipe for an Almond Cranberry Cake using the craisins and jarred cranberry sauce that Elizabeth, Clary, and Jimmy sent. So, Helen and Heather, being British, had never eaten deviled eggs OR Pumpkin Pie, let alone made them, but they did a great job. We had a few problems with the pumpkin, though, because since it was fresh, it was also super-watery…go figure. Leslie and Helen kept trying
to add flour in attempts to thicken our filling, and what we ended up with was pumpkin flavored cake batter, and a big bowl of pumpkin soup, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. My cake had a really good almond flavor and a big ribbon of cranberry sauce in the middle. However, the bottom was kind of like cake goo, because Heather’s oven has a hard time cooking things all the way through. It was very tasty goo, though…so no one complained. I recreated my sweet potatoes (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it), and Becki showed up around 7, also with a giant pan of sweet potatoes! Southern minds think alike. Her’s were the white ones like those I’d used for the soup, so at least we had some color contrast.
We didn’t have a turkey, but we did have a roasted chicken. Heather and Helen had bought a box mix for stuffing from an English speciality store, but I told them I cold whip up homemade in the same amount of time, so that’s just what I did. My final contribution to the meal was a spinach, apple, and cranberry salad with warm bacon Dijon dressing (say
Cranberry goo
It was really yummy, I promise! THAT 3 times fast). Leslie made green bean casserole, and Becki and Leslie made gravy. We’d been planning on mashed potatoes and biscuits as well, but it was getting late and we decided we had enough carb-o-rific glory. Georg carved our chicken tableside, and silence ensued as we savored the fruits of our labor. After dinner, we cleaned up and then just sat around and digested. Then, Georg decided to give everyone a German culture and civilization quiz that he’d done with his students. We failed pretty miserably as to the number of people who speak German and how many states make up the country, and we mangled the names of various politicians. As the evening broke up, we made plans to go and see the Princess Bride today because A) It’s the greatest movie ever, and B) It’s showing at Les Melies, the “artsy” movie theatre in town.
So what is Thanksgiving? Well, I guess it’s a day spent with those you care about, and with that definition, I certainly had Thanksgiving this year in Pau.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.079s; Tpl: 0.023s; cc: 6; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0395s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Gima
non-member comment
TURKEY... or chicken... day
It sounds/looks like you had a fun thanksgiving! and that you have at least exposed if not converted the foreigners to the good side of the south: FOOD AND FUN! Sweet potatoes are my FAVORITE so I don't blame you for the double dosage.